Tomorrow is the day for the public to hear the latest offering from the ever growing band Five Finger Death Punch . American Capitalist is sure to live up to the expectations of fans, and exceeded mine. Both of the bands previous releases have been certified gold, which is good considering the plummet in the sales of rock albums in the past seven years. 5FDP teams up again with producer Kevin Churko; a well-known and respected hard rock producer that worked with the band on their previous release in 2009, War is the Answer. The band told me in an interview last month “We can’t imagine doing a record without Kevin; he is a sonic genius and does a good job putting up with our shit.”
American Capitalist starts off with a drum line and riff that hits you right in the chest and lyrics that seem to take a straight-forward shot at the lifestyle of greedy American fat-cats. The title track is heavy-hitting and the band wastes no time getting into face-melting solos and death punching riffs, courtesy of Zoltan Bathory, the long-dreadlocked beast of a guitar player and Jason Hook who joined the band in ’09.
The first single released from the album “Under and Over It,” which is the top-selling rock song on the iTunes charts, is the well written song about Ivan Moody’s backlash at the tabloids articles written about him being dead and the band breaking up, among other stories.
The band described what it’s like recording an album on a deadline, “like throwing darts.” The title American Capitalist is an absolute bull’s-eye in describing the content of the album. The third song “The Pride” is filled with brand names strung together with Moody screaming about not selling out over the top of another hard hitting riff.
The energy of the album seems to slow for a second in the intro of “Coming Down,” but Death Punch kicks the song back into high gear with an amazing solo played in double time. The songs seem to have the perfect mix of melodic singing, powerful singing, and perfectly timed screams used as an emphasis on strong points.
One of my favorite things about metal music are the solos that seem nearly impossible to play for many guitarists and this album has no shortage of them. I remember when Metallica put out St. Anger and sitting there for an hour waiting for Kirk Hammit to kick me in the nuts with one of his world famous solos. It never happened and I haven’t bought a Metallica album since, as a matter of fact I don’t think many people did after that. Like the new bassist for Death Punch, Chris Kael said in our interview when I asked him what we can do to help save the world of rock, “Just be yourself and don’t conform to what everyone else is doing or what seems to be popular.” Metal is supposed to be fast, with heavy drums, powerful lyrics and solos that make you wonder if it’s humanly possible to play that fast. American Capitalist has all these factors in spades.
“Remember Everything,” has more of a slower epic feel to it and is placed well, it almost gives you a bit of a breather from the extremely intense first half of the album. I wouldn’t be surprised if this song is the next single on the album, it has a mainstream appeal that could attract a slightly different type of listener and open them up to listening to the entire album.
The album’s final song “100 Ways to Hate,” leaves you with a hate-fueled staccato string of lyrics aimed at the superficial world we live in and is a great topper for the album.
Overall the album has a rare quality not found in most albums nowadays, the ability to listen to it front to back without skipping through tracks trying to find something that appeals. American Capitalist has powerful lyrics emphasized by Moody’s intense vocals and backed well by bassist Chris Kael, perfectly timed drums that add loads to the album courtesy of Jeremy Spencer, and excellent teamwork from guitarists Zoltan Bathory and Jason Hook, who combine great tone and blazing fast solos. Chris Kael’s debut work as the new bassist for Death Punch is a great fit for the band and the fact that he can sing does nothing but help the bands appeal. This is a must buy for Death Punch fans, Metal fans, and people who can appreciate an album that they can listen to front to back.
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